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186 • THE AUSTRALIAN LOCAL GOVERNMENT YEARBOOK EDITION 23
STREETSCAPES
From surface treatments to seating, shade, exhibition,
performance and lighting, there are a number of opportunities
within streetscape design that add value, increase passive safety,
and effectively improve the community's engagement with their
streets. This will ensure the continued vibrancy of these spaces.
How do we experience our streets?
The inherent nature of our streetscapes means that, first
and foremost, infrastructure needs to be functional. It is
important, however, to recognise that if we reinterpret everyday
infrastructure, this can result in a significant and sustained
value. Considering all foundational elements of the street --
whether it's pavements, kerbs, drainage, shelters or seating
-- as opportunities to overlay identity and value improves the
effectiveness, but also the experiential qualities, of our streets.
This is a unique approach; one that expresses identity through
infrastructure -- not simply an overlay of paving and landscape
on a predetermined 'engineering' solution.
It is critical that we search for these opportunities within
our constructed landscape to elevate both the way we see, and
also experience, our streets. An investment in custom, bespoke
infrastructure, rather than a selection of catalogue items, is
paramount to create a genuine aesthetic -- one that is unique to
the local community. Low-level integrated structures, expressive
street furniture, and the use of light in an evocative and expressive
way all reinforce a community's identity within this built space.
Additionally, these features add to the vibrancy and safety of our
streets. Another example of this approach could be questioning
the way that our streets drain; seeing the entire length of kerb
and channel as a single drainage outlet leads to improvement of
infiltration and an increase in the removal of pollutants, while also
creating the opportunity to develop an iconic yet robust pit lid
that visually defines the edge of the street.
How do we move through the street?
It is also critical to consider how different users navigate
our streets, and how different approaches to streetscape
layout can prioritise certain types of movement. First and
foremost, analysing what a streetscape means for a local
community alters the way that we approach these networks
and circulation patterns. Considering our streetscapes
as a journey, having an edge and destination places the
emphasis back on a streetscape as a genuine public
space that prioritises pedestrians, and reveals the local
community. This streetscape acts as both the most effective
way to get from point A to B, and also, more importantly,
Morgan Court Glenroy. Image: Nathan T. Dunn
continued on page 188